2006年VOA标准英语-Hamas Feels Pressure to Moderate Stance

By Sonja Pace
Ramallah
02 February 2006

Hamas leaders are sending mixed signals - part moderation, part defiance¹ - as they prepare to form a new Palestinian government in the weeks ahead.  The militant² Islamic group is well aware of increasing international pressure to moderate its stance.

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Palestinian supporters of Hamas celebrate their victory in parliamentary elections, in Ramallah, 26 January 2006  
  

There is no doubt Hamas can draw a crowd, mostly young men carrying Kalashnikovs in one hand and waving the green banner of Hamas in the other.  Thousands of its supporters took to the streets after last month's elections, reveling in their victory.

Hamas won 74 of the 132 seats in the legislature, toppling the ruling Fatah party, which dominated Palestinian politics for more than four decades.

Farhat Asaad was Hamas' campaign manager.

"We expected a majority or near-majority, but we did not expect a big majority as what happened," he said.  "I think the reason our population voted to [for] Hamas, because they have to change the leadership because it failed."

Founded in the late 1980s during the first Palestinian intifada, or uprising, Hamas staked out a position based on strident militancy³ in the fight against Israel and on grassroots support for the Palestinian public, especially the poor.

Hamas refused to recognize Israel's right to exist and opposed the Oslo peace accords signed by Yasser Arafat in 1993.  To this day the Hamas charter calls for Israel's destruction, and Hamas leaders like Mahmoud Zahar still talk about Israel as a foreign entity⁴ in this region.

Speaking on Arab television after the election, Zahar said it was not Hamas that came from outside to take Jewish land.  He blamed the West for planting, what he called this foreign and aggressive body in the heart of the Middle East.

Hamas' many deadly attacks against Israelis during the second intifada, which began more than five years ago put its leaders high on Israel's target list.  In 2004 Israel assassinated⁵ Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and then his successor, Abdelaziz Rantisi.

Afterwards, other Hamas leaders inside the Palestinian territories and in exile kept a low profile.  The group has largely adhered to a cease-fire agreed to between the Palestinian Authority and Israel a year ago - and turned its attention to the ballot⁶ box.

Hamas candidates scored surprising victories in municipal elections in Gaza and the West Bank during the past year, before winning an outright⁷ parliamentary majority last month.

The Hamas victory presents a dilemma⁸ for Israel, the Europeans and the Americans - all of whom brand Hamas a terrorist organization and refuse to deal with the group unless it disarms⁹, recognizes Israel's right to exist, and pursues peace.

Farhat Asaad expresses the feelings of many Palestinians and Arabs when he talks of what they see as the West's double standard in the region.

"The West demand us to recognize the [Israeli] occupation, but they never [demand] the Israeli [occupation] to recognize our rights," he said.

Responding to growing international pressure, Hamas leaders remain adamant¹⁰ they will not change their position, but they also hint at a more pragmatic approach. 

In Gaza, Mahmoud Zahar, a hardliner, said Hamas could consider a longer truce¹¹ with Israel, if the Jewish state reciprocated¹². 

 
Ismail Haniyeh speaks during a news conference in Gaza City, 30 January 2006
  
Gaza's more moderate Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said there should be no fear of Hamas.

Haniyeh also called on donors¹³ not to cut off aid to the Palestinians.  He promised such funds would be spent only on legitimate¹⁴ programs to help the people.

In Damascus, exiled Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal spoke¹⁵ of Israel as a reality and said the group would respect existing agreements as long as they are in the interests of the Palestinians.

Hamas leaders are on a public relations campaign to calm jittery¹⁶ nerves at home and abroad.  They insist they want to form a government based on ability, not religion.

Farhat Asaad says Hamas wants to work with others as it prepares to govern, but he also has a warning for the West and the pressure it is exerting.

"The one who will come after us will be bin¹⁷ Laden," he added.  "It is the choice of the West, not our choice."

Asaad says if the West causes Hamas to fail, a more radical¹⁸ leadership is likely to follow.  But, he also remains¹⁹ optimistic that some sort of dialogue will be established and agreement reached.  "It is in everyone's interest", he says.

1 defiance   

n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗

参考例句：

• He climbed the ladder in defiance of the warning.他无视警告爬上了那架梯子。
• He slammed the door in a spirit of defiance.他以挑衅性的态度把门砰地一下关上。

2 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

3 militancy   

n.warlike behavior or tendency

参考例句：

• Full of militancy and revolutionary ardour, the people of all nationalities in the country are working hard for the realization of the four modernizations. 全国各族人民意气风发， 斗志昂扬，为实现四个现代化而奋战。
• The seniority system is another factor that leads to union militancy. 排资论辈制度也是导致工会好斗争的另一因素。

4 entity   

n.实体，独立存在体，实际存在物

参考例句：

• The country is no longer one political entity.这个国家不再是一个统一的政治实体了。
• As a separate legal entity,the corporation must pay taxes.作为一个独立的法律实体，公司必须纳税。

5 assassinated   

v.暗杀( assassinate的过去式和过去分词 )；中伤；诋毁；破坏

参考例句：

• The prime minister was assassinated by extremists. 首相遭极端分子暗杀。
• Then, just two days later, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. 跟着在两天以后，肯尼迪总统在达拉斯被人暗杀。 来自辞典例句

6 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

7 outright   

adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的

参考例句：

• If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事，你应该直率地对我说。
• You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。

8 dilemma   

n.困境，进退两难的局面

参考例句：

• I am on the horns of a dilemma about the matter.这件事使我进退两难。
• He was thrown into a dilemma.他陷入困境。

9 disarms   

v.裁军( disarm的第三人称单数 )；使息怒

参考例句：

• He was that rarest of statesmen, one whose integrity disarms even his critics. 他为人正直，连批评他的人也佩服他三分，在当代政治家中实属罕见。 来自辞典例句
• Disarm: This ability now disarms ranged weapons as well. 缴械：这个技能现在同时可以缴械对方的远程武器。 来自互联网

10 adamant   

adj.坚硬的，固执的

参考例句：

• We are adamant on the building of a well-off society.在建设小康社会这一点上，我们是坚定不移的。
• Veronica was quite adamant that they should stay on.维罗妮卡坚信他们必须继续留下去。

11 truce   

n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束

参考例句：

• The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。
• She had thought of flying out to breathe the fresh air in an interval of truce.她想跑出去呼吸一下休战期间的新鲜空气。

12 reciprocated   

v.报答，酬答( reciprocate的过去式和过去分词 )；（机器的部件）直线往复运动

参考例句：

• Her passion for him was not reciprocated. 她对他的热情没有得到回应。
• Their attraction to each other as friends is reciprocated. 作为朋友，他们相互吸引着对方。 来自辞典例句

13 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

15 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

16 jittery   

adj. 神经过敏的, 战战兢兢的

参考例句：

• However, nothing happened though he continued to feel jittery. 可是，自从拉上这辆车，并没有出什么错儿，虽然他心中嘀嘀咕咕的不安。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
• The thirty-six Enterprise divebombers were being squandered in a jittery shot from the hip. 这三十六架“企业号”上的俯冲轰炸机正被孤注一掷。

17 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

18 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

19 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。